


breaking the ice

by vonseal



Category: ASTRO (Band)
Genre: Ice Skating, M/M, Romance, Romantic Comedy, literal angel ice skater cha eunwoo, not really literal im a liar, really clumsy jinwoo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-27
Updated: 2017-03-27
Packaged: 2018-10-11 21:02:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10474353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vonseal/pseuds/vonseal
Summary: Jinwoo just let him talk, because Dongmin had a pretty voice and a pretty smile and a pretty heart, and Jinwoo really liked pretty things.





	

**Author's Note:**

> some jincha! i had a reader request it, and i don't think i've seen too much jincha around here, despite how well they really do get along with each other. again, though, i struggle with pairings that aren't myungjin, so i hope this actually seems okay.

Jinwoo really liked pretty things.

He had always like pretty things. He had always liked the flowers that grew in his mother's garden and the way the sun bled out pinks and reds before going to sleep. He liked paintings and ornate pieces of pottery and houses that had nice interior designs.

He also like angels, on account of their prettiness, but he had always thought angels would be up with the pretty clouds, or walking around on a pretty beach. But apparently angels liked to ice skate.

Jinwoo didn't know angels _could_ ice skate until one fateful day on the 27 th of March, at right around four-fifty. He had never even _imagined_ an angel ice skating; surely, though, they must do some sort of extracurricular sport if they were stuck on Earth for an unverified amount of time, and ice skating was graceful enough to be a sport angels would definitely partake in. At the very least, _this_ angel partook in it, and very well, too.

Jinwoo found himself clapping along with all of the children nearby. The angel looked over at him and Jinwoo cleared his throat, then glanced over at an elderly couple and pretended to be clapping at them. He caught the angel smile before turning back to the children.

Part of Jinwoo was thankful that he had most likely been stood up on his date. He hadn't _expected_ that the other guy wouldn't show, wouldn't even _text_ , but after half an hour of waiting around with a rented pair of skates by his feet, Jinwoo realized that he was going to go through this day by his lonesome.

It wasn't so bad, though. Not if he could watch this incredibly attractive ice skate instructor give lessons to young children. Jinwoo had popped a piece of gum in his mouth, slowly chewing as his eyes followed that gorgeous angel around the rink. Truth be told, Jinwoo didn't know _how_ to skate, and thus he had no idea how to properly describe all of those twists and turns and spins the angel was doing, but he made it look so easy.

When the kids came out to join him, the skate instructor had laughed. His eyes turned up into crescents, smiling along with his mouth, and Jinwoo sighed dreamily, putting his elbow on his knee and resting his chin in the palm of his hand.

He was going to have to thank Minhyuk for hooking him up with a guy who clearly didn't _want_ a date. This was far better than making awkward small-talk with someone he didn't know. He imagined, instead, that he was just as skilled of an ice skater as the angel, that he was out there on the rink doing all of those fancy spins, that the guy was smiling and laughing at him.

Maybe he should just figure out a way to become a kid again -

Or, better yet, he should bring a kid with him to the rink. He could sign the kid up for skating lessons and then he would have an excuse to come back to the area at least once a week. Maybe, too, one day he would be able to cozy up to the angel and ask for his number and then he would ditch whatever kid it was he had and spend the rest of his days with this adorable ice skating instructor.

He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that the sudden pile of kids vying to get out of the rink made him jump. He checked his watch and sighed. Five o'clock. The practice session must have ended. Parents were retrieving their children and thanking the angel, and he was smiling and speaking to a few of the mothers and fathers, giving some advice or praise, and Jinwoo simply stared.

The last child had left. The place was near empty, save for the elderly couple, and the angel was going over a sheet of paper attached to a clipboard. Jinwoo continued to watch until he was noticed.

The angel glanced up, then brushed his black bangs up his forehead. He seemed slightly sweaty, but it somehow made him all the more attractive, and Jinwoo swallowed thickly.

“You've been sitting there for a while,” the angel commented. He had a deeper voice than Jinwoo would have guessed, but the tone was rich and he vaguely reminded Jinwoo of a prince in some romantic cartoons he had watched as a kid. “I don't think you've been out on the rink at all.”

Jinwoo glanced down at his rented skates before clearing his throat. He hadn't even expected the skate instructor to notice him; though, if he thought about it, he _had_ been staring at the guy for quite some time. His infatuation might have been a little more obvious than he had assumed.

“I'm not that good at skating.”

“But why are you here, then?”

Jinwoo could easily explain his situation. Perhaps the angel would take pity on him then. Instead, though, the man's sparkling eyes were a little distracting and Jinwoo's tongue fumbled his words. “To watch and date.”

“What?”

Jinwoo didn't have to guess why the man looked so alarmed. He felt terribly embarrassed, and he quickly gathered his skates and attempted to fix the situation, to make himself seem a _little_ less weird. “A date!”

“Oh, you're on a date?”

“I mean, I thought I was.” Jinwoo gestured to his phone and smiled awkwardly at the angel. “He never showed up.”

The skater tightened his lips and nodded his head slightly. “You waited for him for a while.”

“I thought he might show up,” Jinwoo lied. He wouldn't tell the truth and say, _I stayed because I think you're adorable_. That'd be ridiculous. “Oh, well. I'll find someone better to date next time.”

“Are you leaving now?”

Jinwoo looked down at the rented skates in his hand. They were brown and leather and had seen far better days. His eyes traveled over to the man's skates, resting on the bench beside him; white and in pristine, fantastic condition.

He had looked so good wearing those skates, too. Jinwoo really would have to ask around for a kid to take to skating lessons, just to have that excuse to hang out more often.

“I guess,” Jinwoo responded, looking back up at the skate instructor. “I've been here for half an hour.”

“But those are rented skates. You paid for this, and you didn't even skate?”

Jinwoo laughed and shrugged. “I thought my date would have taught me how to skate. It's fine, though, I'll make my roommate pay me back. He's the one that got me involved in this in the first place.”

The angel still didn't seem very satisfied, and he grabbed at his own skates. “Since you already paid for them, let's skate.”

“What?”

“I can teach you, since he's not here to do it.” The man was already slipping the skates back on his feet.

Jinwoo shook his head. “You don't have to do that, seriously. You've been working with the kids all day, and I don't-”

“It's no problem! I was going to skate for a little bit myself, anyway. Besides,” the man grinned up at him and Jinwoo found his breath taken away, “I like teaching others how to skate!”

He had such a welcoming expression, and Jinwoo found it difficult to avert his gaze. He wanted to keep staring, but after a few seconds, he realized the man was waiting for an answer. “Oh! Oh, yeah, um- I mean, are you sure? You really don't have to, I could just-”

“I'd be happy to! Seriously, I would!”

Jinwoo wasn't going to deny this man a chance at happiness. He nodded his head and cleared his throat, then moved to put his own skates back on. “I'm going to warn you, though,” he mentioned, shooting his own smile over at the angel. “I'm not good at this.”

_Not good_ was an understatement. He ended up tripping three times just while walking to get over to the rink, and finally the man had to hold his hands. Jinwoo knew the palms of his hands were sweaty and he prayed the man wouldn't notice, but the man seemed to notice everything.

“Nervous?” he was asked.

Jinwoo didn't lie. “Yes.”

“Don't worry, ice skating is really simple once you get the hang of it. No need to be nervous!”

He wasn't nervous about ice skating, though.

Once out on the rink, he didn't want to let go of the railing, but the man kept gesturing for him. “I have your hands,” the man stated. “I won't let you fall.”

Jinwoo, leaned up against the side of the rink, shook his head. “I know I'll fall.”

“You won't. I'm going to make sure you don't.”

“I'll fall and the ice will break.”

The man laughed, his deep voice cracking slightly with giggles, and Jinwoo blinked up at him. “It's not going to break! Promise! Just hold onto me and I'll glide backwards and let you get a feel for it, okay?”

He wore such a trustworthy expression, such a calm, serene smile, and Jinwoo honestly felt drawn to push himself off the side of the wall and allow the man to skate backwards. He slowly glided along, feeling as wobbly as a newborn, keeping his eyes on the ice at all times.

“What's your name?” the man suddenly asked, prompting Jinwoo to glance up for a total of four seconds. “My name is Dongmin.”

It was a pretty name. Jinwoo really liked pretty things.

“Jinwoo,” he responded quietly, hoping he didn't sound as scared as he felt when Dongmin began to turn. “Ho-Hold on, I don't think I'm ready-!”

“Jinwoo,” Dongmin repeated his name. “You're ready. Just keep a hold of my hands.”

Dongmin didn't have to tell him twice. Jinwoo was gripping onto them tightly, cursing himself for ever agreeing to do this. If he wanted to look cool and composed in front of a literal angel, he was sure doing a terrible job at it.

Suddenly, though, they came to a stop. Jinwoo bumped into Dongmin and mumbled a, “Sorry.” Dongmin was much taller than he was, and Jinwoo had to glance up when Dongmin giggled again and scooted back ever so slightly.

He was close enough still that Jinwoo was able to see just how clear and smooth his skin was, practically shining from the studio lights overhead, and his dark eyes, containing a screenshot of stars from all previous nights before, sparkling and twinkling as he stared at Jinwoo.

Jinwoo wondered just how red his face was.

“I want you to go backwards now,” Dongmin said, and he gripped Jinwoo's hands. Just keep your eyes on me and _slowly_ start going backwards.”

“What?”

“You'll do fine! I'll stop you if you mess up, and I told you I won't let you fall.”

It was still incredibly nerve-wracking, but Dongmin was smiling again, and Jinwoo really couldn't reject anything Dongmin said with that cheerful expression. He took a deep breath and offered his own smile.

“Promise I won't fall?”

“Promise.”

So Jinwoo accepted that promise, and he started to go backwards. Dongmin followed along, holding him steady and muttering soft, positive comments: “That's great, you're doing fantastic, Jinwoo – alright, a little slower here, you don't have to look behind you, stare at me.”

Jinwoo liked the idea of staring at Dongmin, and he was doing well enough at it that he forgot he was gliding along an ice skating rink until he heard Dongmin say, “Wait – Jinwoo, _wait_ , you're too fast-”

Unfortunately, Dongmin wasn't able to stop him in time. Jinwoo felt his feet go out from under him as a result of skating too quickly without any knowledge on how to stop. Dongmin attempted to pull slightly at Jinwoo's arms to stop him, but he managed to actually speed along the process. Jinwoo fell backwards with nothing to support him now, and Dongmin, hands still attached, followed Jinwoo on his way down.

They ended up laying on top of each other, Jinwoo breathing harshly and letting out a groan when he felt how badly his back was bruised. Dongmin recovered much quicker. “Oh my god, are you okay, Jinwoo? Did you break anything?”

“Probably the ice.”

“The ice won't break. Let's see-” Dongmin splayed his legs out on either side of Jinwoo's body, straddling him and looking him over. “Did your back hit the ice first, or your head?”

“Everything, it feels like.”

“Jinwoo.”

“My back,” Jinwoo mumbled. Dongmin gave a slight _tsk_ with his tongue, then pulled Jinwoo into a sitting position as well. “You promised me you wouldn't let me fall.”

“You let yourself fall,” Dongmin responded, and he began to pat slightly at Jinwoo's head as if checking for any signs of injury. “Does your back hurt that badly?”

It didn't anymore, not when Dongmin's hands were cupping Jinwoo's cheeks. Jinwoo blinked at the concern written all over Dongmin's face. “No.”

Dongmin breathed a sigh of relief, but his hands didn't drop from their position. “I guess we probably shouldn't continue, however. You might be a little sore tomorrow, and there's no need to worsen that.”

Which meant that they would both have to leave. And Jinwoo hadn't yet figured out any kids he could steal, so this might be the last time he would ever get to lay eyes on an ice-skating angel.

Jinwoo cleared his throat and smiled lightly. “Could...could I buy you coffee, as a thank you for trying to teach me?”

Dongmin's eyebrows rose slightly. “Coffee?”

“If you want. I bet you're tired and probably need to go home, but-”

“No.” Dongmin shook his head and returned the smile. Jinwoo felt his heart skip a beat. “Coffee sounds fantastic!”

Though getting coffee _did_ entail trying to untangle themselves from their positions, and then Dongmin had to give a five-minute lesson on how to get up after falling, and Jinwoo only fell three more times after that.

Dongmin held his hand again, even after their skates were off and they were on safer grounds. He ignored whatever blush might have been on Jinwoo's face, and instead commented on how well Jinwoo did, despite the mistakes he made.

And Jinwoo just let him talk, because Dongmin had a pretty voice and a pretty smile and a pretty heart, and Jinwoo really liked pretty things.

 

**Author's Note:**

> and jinwoo didn't even need to steal a child bc he got dongmin's phone number during their coffee date, bless.
> 
> i'll try working more on elementary this week, but i'm already skipping class for a work conference, and i'm skipping work for a funeral, so life's a little nuts right now, lol. hopefully i'll be back on track sooner rather than later (knowing me, though, i'll end up writing something or other, since writing is my stress reliever).
> 
> send me dollar bills to make up for my missed work hours [@vonseal](http://www.vonseal.tumblr.com)!


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